The overlooked Islamist threat in Russia

Trinity Sunday became a day of terror in the city of Derbent, Dagestan, when gunmen attacked a church and synagogue, killing Father Nikolai and setting the synagogue on fire. The incident highlights the ongoing threat of extremism in the region, fueled by economic and social issues like high unemployment and corruption. In an attempt to deflect blame, Russian MP Abdulkhakim Gadzhiev pointed fingers at Ukraine and Nato countries, suggesting they orchestrated the attacks without providing evidence. This tactic of blaming external forces, especially Western ones, for internal problems is not new for the Russian authorities. President Vladimir Putin even went as far as denying that Russia could be a target of Islamic fundamentalist terrorist attacks, emphasizing the harmony and unity within the country. The reluctance to acknowledge and discuss the Islamist threat seems to be connected to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with the Russian government trying to shift blame away from internal issues to external enemies. However, not everyone in Russia buys into this narrative, with some prominent figures like Senator Dmitry Rogozin cautioning against blaming every terrorist attack on Ukraine and Nato, emphasizing the need to address the real problems at hand.